Shattered Memories
by Stormsworder
Summary: My first Half-Life fanfic and a small crossover. Stars my Resident Evil fanfic series' main character. When Danielle Roivas gets caught up in a teleportation test, she gets caught up in something bigger than Umbrella. Chapter 3 up. Scrapped.
1. Prologue

Two flaming arrows flew past her head, hitting the support beam of the cabin. Danielle Roivas muttered darkly under her breath, pulling her head back behind the wall. The all-too-familiar chanting of the religious zealots she had been encountering came from back the way the arrows came from.

"Just my luck to escape from these guys, then get caught by them five minutes later." She stepped out from her spot and fired twice. The first shot went wide, but the second one hit the zealot in the head. His head burst apart as a full grown Plagas parasite came out and hissed. They were easy to fight if they were still inside their hosts, but when they left was a different story.

Danielle raised up her pistol, mind numb with the realization that she was on her last round in the 9mm. She fired just as the Plagas detached itself from its host and leapt at her. It tackled her, and she felt its needle-sharp legs tearing into her chest. She closed her eyes, not wanting to stare into the face of the monster that was about to kill her. The sound of gunfire came as a total surprise to her, and the Plagas quit its attack.

She opened her eyes a bit, noticing blurry shapes staring down at her. They were talking to each other in quick, worried voices, and the person nearest to Danielle was treating her injuries. She glanced around, unfamiliar with her surroundings. She had been in a cabin in that freaky village. Now she looked like she was in some type of lab. The person tending to her wounds was a woman with a black headband and brownish colored jacket. "Dad, what just happened?"

Danielle spotted a black man nearby checking rows of computers. "I think opened our portal to an alternate universe also inhabited by humans. And one of them was knocked through by that monster Gordon killed."

"Las Plagas…" Danielle whispered, pushing herself into a sitting position despite the pain in her chest. The woman treating her gave her a stern look, but said nothing as she continued to work on the wounds. "That creature… is a parasite that lives in its host until it becomes an adult. Then, the host is just a puppet for it…"

A man in orange and black armor crouched down by her. He was holding an unfamiliar pistol and must have been the one who shot the parasite. "The Combine are shelling the area. I guess they must have found out where the base is. Alyx and I were outside when it started. We need to get the kid out of here before Civil Protection comes."

The woman nodded. "Dad, you and Gordon get out of here. I'll leave another way with the girl. We'll be able to move faster if we split up, not meaning to sound rude or anything." She looked back at Danielle. "Can you walk?"

Danielle got to her feet, wincing only slightly as she moved. "Yeah. Just who are you guys, anyways?"

"We don't have time for introductions, but all you need to know is that my name is Alyx. Come on, we have to get moving!" A pair of large metal doors nearby shook violently under the impact of something heavy, and gunfire could be heard from the distance.

The man with the pistol, who Danielle guessed was Gordon, cursed under his breath. "Alyx, get her out of here, now! I'll protect Eli!"

Alyx grabbed her wrist, pulling her through another set of doors. They ran down a corridor until they rounded a corner and came face to face with half a dozen armed men in white gasmasks. Danielle's reflexes kicked in, and she pulled Alyx to the ground just before the air was filled with bullets.

"Stay down!" she shouted over the roar of gunfire, reaching into her pack. She pulled out a red incendiary grenade and waited until the men stopped shooting. That was when she pulled the pin and stepped around the corner, throwing the grenade down the hall at them. There was a burst of flame, and all six men were set ablaze.

Alyx stood back up and took out a pistol, looking amazed. Before she could speak, the sound of gunfire and crackling radios came in the direction they just left. They continued to run down the hallway, passing through rooms so fast Danielle couldn't even see what was inside. When they entered some sort of warehouse, the lights flickered and went out, plunging them into total darkness.

Danielle took out the small flashlight from her belt, turning it on and scanning their surroundings with it. Footsteps came from all directions, but she didn't see anyone when she pointed her flashlight around. She swallowed hard, reminded once again of the nightmarish village she had just left minutes ago. No way to tell which way they would come and how many would attack…

Without warning, something hard impacted her in the back of her head, sending a surge of electricity into her body. Danielle collapsed to the ground with the flashlight landing in a clatter next to her. All she managed to make out in the dim light was Alyx running off with three or so soldiers chasing after her.

Two gloved hands turned Danielle over onto her back. Standing over her was another of the gasmask-clad men. "Subject located and detained. Female, approximately eighteen years of age. No records on file. Bringing her in to the Citadel." Danielle's vision faded as two more men picked her up and carried her off.


	2. Chapter 1

Spirit Dragon: Thanks. I hope this new plot twist doesn't diminish your interest in it.

Blizrun: Sorry about that. I couldn't think of anything else in the middle of sixth period. Actually, I had something different planned, but I scrapped the idea due to problems with getting it done right.

Ezequielhl: Thanks. I'm really glad you like it. I hope you like this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 1

Danielle bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily. She rubbed her forehead, which was covered in sweat, and tried to calm down a bit. This was the third night in a row she had been having that strange nightmare. She thought it over in her mind, wondering what it meant. She would be on the streets of City 17 at night with the full moon overhead. Before her would be a large, ominous mansion that looked like it had abandoned for years. Before she could enter it, five people would appear before her. They would warn her against entering it, saying that it would only mean her death, yet she would ignore them and enter anyways.

The first room was a large foyer with a staircase leading up to the second floor. The walls themselves seemed to radiate with evil, and shadows watched her every move. There would be a soft shuffling sound behind her, and when she turned around, a person would grab her by the shoulders and bite into her neck.

She shivered, wiping more sweat from her forehead. From what she could remember, the person seemed strange. His skin was an ashen color, and his eyes were a milky white. She had seen that kind of face before, but only on dead people. Even the man's skin was rotting from the bone. But how could he have been walking.

_It was a dream. Things don't have to be realistic in dreams._

Danielle slowly stood up and walked to the door to her room, opening it as quietly as she could. The hall beyond was empty. As she did on other nights, she made her way upstairs to the roof, which was in a state of disrepair. A particularly large hole led out to the nearby building's roof. She had heard some of the residents say it was made in order to escape from the Combine when they finally came to this building. Everyone knew they were going to come. It was only a matter of time…

She sat down underneath another hole; it was much smaller in size, and it gave a clear view of the sky above. Danielle stared at the shining stars, her thoughts drifting back to what they did every night. Her past was a mystery to her. When she tried to think of what had happened before three days ago, her mind sort of came up blank. Civil Protection had said it was just from a car wreck that had killed both of her parents, but that was hard to believe. Some of the people in the building that she trusted said there were never any people with the last name of "Sterling" living in the area until three days ago. So why were the Combine hiding the truth from her?

"And for some reason, I feel like Sterling isn't my real last name… Why, though?" she whispered to no one in particular. "And if it's not, then what _is _it?"

She wasn't expecting a reply, and she nearly cried out when she heard the voice behind her saying, "You're right. It isn't your real surname at all."

Danielle jumped to her feet and spun around, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the Civil Protection officer standing there. He was unarmed, which came as a surprise. Most officers would at least carry around a StunStick or a 9mm pistol, but this one was without weapons. "What are you doing here," Danielle asked, not bothering to keep the anger out of her voice. She immediately regretted it, knowing that he was probably going to beat her black and blue for speaking to him like that.

"Believe it or not, I came to help. I read the file the Combine has on you. Seems that their hiding things about you that not even you know." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she said nothing as he continued on. "They are also coming for you. When you started questioning the Combine, Overwatch got nervous. They'll be sending a unit to capture you sometime tomorrow."

"If you're working for the Combine, then why are you helping me?"

The officer chuckled. "I'm far from being a supporter for those guys. And I'm helping you because if they capture you, it'll mean death. You have to escape tomorrow as soon as you can. I'll try to send help to get you out, but there's no guarantee that they will make it to the building on time."

Danielle still couldn't bring herself to trust this guy. But if the CP really were coming for her, she had no choice. "If they're after me, where do I go? There's nowhere to hide from those guys."

"You can get to a safe place by heading through the canals. I'll try to get some people to help you out along the way. But—" He was cut off by a loud squeal from his helmet's radio. "Unit 539, come in." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the stairs urgently, and Danielle understood the message. She ran back down the stairs as quietly as she could and returned to her room, lying down on the mattress that served as her bed. Confused thoughts swirled around in her head, and for several minutes, all she did was think about what happened. When she finally fell asleep, it was already around 1 AM.

-

Danielle awoke to a loud rapping on her door. Memories of the night before came to mind, and an icy hand clutched at her heart. How long had she been asleep? Was it too late to escape? She scrabbled to her feet and ran to the door, hoping her hunch wasn't right. "Who is it?"

"Civil Protection! Now open up!" She swallowed hard, hesitating as her hand touched the doorknob. If she defied the officers, she would be in a lot more trouble than she would if she just opened the door for them. She paused a little too long, because Civil Protection kicked the door down soon afterwards.

The blow caught her off guard, and she was knocked backwards. An officer pushed her to the ground, pulling her arms behind her back and slapping on restraints. He yanked her to her feet, shoving her roughly towards the doorway. "I'll handle this one. You find the others." The other officers nodded and ran off. He pushed her down the hallway to the stairs, and Danielle caught glimpses of people watching from cracks in their doors. The Civil Protection officer forced her up the stairs and into the small room that the stairs to the attic were in. She suddenly grew confused, wondering why she was being lead upstairs instead of to the ground floor.

In the attic, the officer took off the restraints, apologizing quietly. "Sorry I had to do that, but I couldn't just let you get away until we were at a safe place. Now, I know you have a lot of questions, but there is no time to explain. All I can say is that you need to get as far away from here as you can. It won't take them long to notice you got away. Get to the canals, and try to avoid Scanners and CP units. My friends will help you. I'd suggest making your way through the sewers to the canals, so that way my friends can keep you covered. Now, go before they find out where we went."

Danielle hesitated, then ran out through the hole in the roof. She didn't remember the layout of the roofs, so she didn't know where she would be caught at a dead end. Pumping her arms for speed, she made her way over rooftops and across ledges, hoping that they wouldn't see her down on the street. CP units were everyone, and if one of them spotted her up here…

She pushed the thought out of her mind as she spotted a fire escape at the edge of the current building she was on. Danielle clambered down it quickly and casually walked out onto the sidewalk, looking both ways down the street. No one seemed to care about her, which was a big relief.

The sounds of sirens came from back the way she came, and Danielle guessed that they found out she was missing. "That means I don't have much time left before they come looking… I hope that guy didn't trick me."

She took a deep breath, knowing that he was the only ally she had right now. Walking down the sidewalk in the direction of the canals, she stuck her hands in her pockets and wondered what was going to happen to her.


	3. Chapter 2

((A/N: Sorry for the really long delay, but I was torn between working on three different stories and a ton of school work. XX Hence the really short and rushed chapter with a ton of mistakes in it. I had to scrap and redo the whole chapter twice, and now all the chapters I have on paper are completely useless. So, I'm gonna be delayed again after this. I need to get another chapter of my Eternal Darkness story up soon, so work is gonna be devoted to it.))

TinyXipe: 1 AM. You think the Combine would be a bit suspicious to see an 18 year old civilian sneaking through the street towards the canals? They would shoot her on site. And yeah, I know I have mistakes. I typed this pretty dang fast. And I had a ton of trouble with this chapter, so… Sorry for it not being so good this time around.

* * *

Chapter 2

Danielle heard the squeal of tires behind her as a Combine APC turned the corner and came down the very street she was on. "Oh shoot…" Danielle whispered, just as a half dozen CP officers poured out of the transport. There were hushed whispers from a civilian couple nearby while the officers questioned people nearby. When she noticed someone pointing in her direction, and the CP officer turned to face her, Danielle's heart froze. The idiot has just told them where she was.

_People will do anything for rations these days, _she thought to herself, but her anger was quickly replaced by fear as the officers surrounded her with StunSticks drawn. "Whoa! I didn't do anything, all right?" The officers ignored her, still closing in on her. Danielle stepped backwards and glanced around quickly, realizing that she had just backed into an alley. There was no possible way out of this mess now. She had escaped the Combine once, but not a second time.

The nearest officer took a swing at her, and Danielle ducked down under the blow. Reflexively, she brought up her fist in a hard uppercut to the chin that knocked the officer backwards a good bit. Instantly, the others retaliated. She barely had time to react before a StunStick slammed into her head and another into her side. Danielle fell to her knees, the world around her spinning as the officers continued to beat her mercilessly. She wanted it all to end, for the pain to stop. She couldn't take it anymore…

Abruptly, the attacks stopped. She could hear the faint sounds of fighting, but wasn't able to make them out clearly. All she knew was that someone distracted the CP officers. She could barely understand the voices talking above her, but she felt someone touch the side of her neck with two fingers.

"Is she alive?" a male voice asked.

"Yeah, but barely. We arrived just in time. Help me pick her up," another voice replied. This one was female.

Danielle felt gentle hands lift her up off the ground. She tried opening her eyes, but found herself unable to. She couldn't even move or speak. Her life was in the hands of whoever was carrying her. She began to panic. Who were these people? What were they going to do with her?

_Well, if they aren't hurting me, then they might not be Combine. Since when have they ever cared about being nice to citizens?_

Along with her confused thoughts about what was going on, there was something else. There were pictures of things she couldn't remember, but seemed eerily familiar. It was like she had seen them somewhere before, even though she couldn't recall when or where. It was like she had memories that she never knew were there.

_Maybe they're my real memories. Nah, it can't be. That's crazy. I've never seen half those people, and I sure as heck haven't run into any of those freaky monsters like in my dreams. I must be losing it…_

Minutes passed by until she felt herself being set down on something soft, most likely a mattress. By this time, Danielle's senses were slowly returning to normal, but she still couldn't open her eyes. Someone wiped her face with a damp rag and opened each of her eyes, shining a light in each one. Danielle squinted and blinked a few times, temporarily blinded by the light. "She's responsive," a female voice said. "Danielle, can you hear me?"

As Danielle's eyesight recovered, she saw three people around her. One was a woman, who had the flashlight in her hand and was treating Danielle's injuries. The CP officer from the night before was also there, minus the mask. The most surprising of all was Mike Steele, and African American who had been in her building when the Combine came to arrest him a few days ago. Despite being thirty, he had taken care of Danielle as best as he could and always encouraged her to cling to the hope that the Resistance would help them escape.

"Yeah, I can…" Danielle mumbled in reply, her speech slightly slurred. She found it hard to talk right, and her thoughts were all jumbled together.

"See Alyx. What did I tell you? Danielle here is one tough kid." Mike crouched down, gently squeezing Danielle's hand in reassurance. "Don't worry about the Combine anymore. We dealt with those guys, and we're about to get you to a safe place soon."

The woman, who must have been Alyx, glanced back at him. "The station is about a half hour from here. I was counting on her to still be out of it, so we didn't have to worry about her feeling too much pain as we move her. With a concussion like she received, we'll have to move way slower, and the Combine could catch up with us easily."

Danielle winced, slowly bringing up her head to feel the side of her head. The hair was sticky and matted with blood. The CP officer must have landed a harder blow than she thought. Alyx grabbed her arm and gently pushed it back down, shaking her head. "Don't try to move at all. We don't know how bad they injured you. Barney, Mike, do any of you have a medkit with some sedatives in it? Maybe even a tranquilizer that will knock her out for the rest of the trip?"

The CP officer and Mike glanced at each other. "You're the one with first-aid experience," Barney said quietly.

Mike sighed and reached into a pack on his belt, taking out a syringe. "This is the last of it, but it should be enough." He looked at Danielle, gazing into her eyes sympathetically. "Do you mind if we do this, kid?"

Danielle tried to force a small grin. "Not a kid… And I don't mind… I hurt all over right now…"

He handed the syringe to Alyx, who slid the needle into her arm. Slowly, she injected the liquid into Danielle's blood stream. "Okay…" she said, handing it back to Mike. "Once she's out, we need to get moving again. You know how bad the Combine want this kid right now…"

The words caught Danielle's interest. She tried to ask them what they were talking about, but the medicine was already starting to take effect. She slowly slipped into a doze, the pain in her body finally going away and allowing her to rest.


End file.
